Research Reports

Land Development Risks Along State Transportation Corridors

Description:
Land development that is not coordinated with transportation planning can compromise the performance of Washington's state routes. Identifying land risk for development along state routes can provide opportunities for proactive, collaborative planning to improve access, mobility, and safety while supporting economic development. This project, described in two parts, provides tools to help turn adverse risks of land development into opportunities to make route improvements.

In part one, systems for identifying land at risk for development were developed for the state and local levels from relevant literature and expert input. Risk factors at the state level include historic population and job growth, population and job forecasts, and traffic conditions. Additional risk factors at the local level include regulatory constraints, critical areas, vacant and underdeveloped lands, recent sales history, building permit history, and sewer and water utilities. The local level system was applied to three case study areas. Results generally agreed with local knowledge, yet the method offered an objective and systematic means for comparing corridors across the state fairly.

In part two, a menu of strategies for responsibly developing state routes was developed from current WSDOT practices, literature on standard approaches, and reports of novel solutions. Strategies were classified as planning and coordination activities, non-engineering and engineering strategies, and funding/enforcement strategies.